


Comfort Food

by lil_1337



Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-08-22
Updated: 2007-08-22
Packaged: 2017-11-06 23:04:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/424223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lil_1337/pseuds/lil_1337
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for the <a href="http://gw500.livejournal.com/profile"><img/></a><a href="http://gw500.livejournal.com/"><b>gw500</b></a> prompt pod.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Comfort Food

Wufei toyed with his food, pushing it around his plate with the tips of his chopsticks. It wasn't that the meal was inedible or he wasn't feeling hungry. He'd worked a long shift and hadn't eaten for a good six hours. The Jade Palace was one of the few places he'd found that was actually able to rival what he remembered from his childhood on L5. Hidden in a back street in Geneva it was also the only one local enough to make regular use of.

The family who owned the place was also named Chang and despite all evidence to the contrary had immediately adopted him, claiming he must be related to a distant cousin on the father's side of the family who had immigrated to L5. The long dead relative had immigrated not long after the colony was founded to avoid certain pressing legal issues. No doubt his father would have been horrified, but Wufei found a measure of comfort in letting himself believe that in some small way he was not alone. That these people were indeed a small part of what he had lost.

Sighing he picked up another bite of food, enjoying the crisp taste of the pea pod as it crunched under the assault of his teeth. One of the things he enjoyed about living on Earth was the freshness of the vegetables. There was a fullness of flavor that could not be replicated with cycled oxygen and water. What did grow was stunted and almost colorless due to the artificial sunlight.

Feeling the weight of eyes on him, Wufei glanced up and noticed Grandma Chang watching him closely, a look of evident displeasure in the tightness of her lips. She looked from him to his plate, her frown of disapproval deepening at the way he'd barely touched his meal. He offered her a small smile and bowed his head in apology for the lack of respect he had shown her cooking. It would not do to have Grandmother annoyed or worse, concerned about him.

Anger he could charm his way out of. A box of chocolates from one of the more upscale places in town and a sincere apology would get him back in her good graces. His standing as a war veteran and Preventer earned him special privileges accorded to a warrior, in her eyes, something that Wufei had used to his advantage, but sparely, as it would not do to wear out his welcome.

Concern, however, was not that easily put aside. She would fuss over him and pry into issues he was studiously avoiding and had been for some time. It was her right as an elder to ask uncomfortable questions and expect them to answered. Lying or attempting to evade would not be possible under the sharp intensity of her gaze. Thinking back, Wufei remembered his own grandmother, a stern woman would never hesitated to tell him when he was out of line. She'd also defended him, openly defying his father, when Wufei had decided to leave the scholarly life and learn to pilot Nataku.

_Do what you feel is right, boy. Your heart knows its path._

The words echoed through his mind as clear as the moment they had issued from her lips. Startled, Wufei looked up, half expecting to see the wizened old woman seated next to him. The chair remained empty, but for a brief second he thought he caught a hint of the perfume she used to wear lingering in the air, marking her passing. Feeling more settled and at peace then he had for weeks, Wufei smiled and resumed his meal. This time with the appreciation and enjoyment it richly deserved.


End file.
